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Chapter 250: Campfire on a Snowy Night (5)

Schiller, who was taking a nap in the lounge, heard the doorbell ring. He groggily raised his arm, checked his watch, and sat up, calling out from inside, "Wait a moment."

He tidied his clothes in front of the mirror and pushed the door open to step out.

Evans was standing in the room, and upon seeing Schiller come out, he said, "Sorry, Professor, did I come too early?"

"No, why did you decide to make an appointment here?" Schiller turned his head to look outside the window, not seeing the car that usually picked up Evans. Evans noticed his reaction and awkwardly said, "I didn't come from the Manor."

"Have a seat."

Schiller and Evans walked over to the table and sat down. Schiller carefully observed Evans and noticed that he looked a bit exhausted. He asked, "What's wrong? I was surprised when Mrs. Miller mentioned that young Falcone called to make an appointment for treatment. Why didn't you directly invite me to Falcone Manor?"

"I... don't live at Falcone Manor anymore." Evans placed his hands on the table and lowered his gaze, saying, "I moved out."

"Oh?" Schiller took a sip of water, and the fireplace in the room burned brighter, making him feel a bit warm. He said, "Well, that's interesting. You moved out?"

"I know it sounds absurd, but... anyway, I no longer live with The Godfather."

Evans tightly pursed his lips, his expression unusually serious. He said, "Alberto told me everything, and I never expected..."

His expression showed a mix of sadness and complexity, as if he had many things to say and needed an outlet to pour them out.

"I never thought things would turn out this way. It's truly absurd. How could my brother..."

Evans covered his eyes with his hand, then waved it before Schiller could speak, saying, "...well, actually, I've accepted this fact, but... the relationship between Alberto and The Godfather is quite complicated, isn't it?"

"I continued living at Falcone Manor as usual, but I always felt inexplicably anxious. Sometimes, I even felt afraid. More importantly, when I faced The Godfather, I felt breathless."

"I know these are not my own feelings but the influence Alberto has on me."

Evans frowned, appearing somewhat pained, and continued, "Before, when Alberto took over my body, I couldn't feel anything, as if I were asleep. But if his emotions became too intense, I would be awakened. It happened on a stormy night, pouring rain and thundering..."

Evans' gaze turned to the window, as if he could see that rainy night. Rainwater trickled down the glass, and when a lightning bolt flashed, the fine raindrops emitted a dazzling gleam.

Alberto was half-kneeling on the ground, his face filled with fear, while across from him stood The Godfather by the window.

"The intensity of that emotion was overwhelming. I didn't know what he was afraid of, but it woke me up, and I experienced his pain as if it were my own."

"So what did you do?"

"I didn't know what I should do, but there was one thing I could do, and that was to separate them."

"So you moved out?"

Evans nodded and said, "The Godfather is not happy about it, but I insisted on not going back home. Recently, I've been staying in the school dormitory and occasionally staying over at a classmate's place."

"But ever since that day, my brother hasn't appeared. I'm worried that something might be wrong. Professor, could you..."

"Alright, I know it sounds absurd." Evans pressed his forehead and said, "But today, it's not me who needs psychological therapy, it's Alberto."

"Of course, you both have the same billing address. Close your eyes and do as I instruct..."

Two minutes later, Alberto opened his eyes and stared at Schiller with a cold gaze, saying, "Why did you summon me?"

"Your brother is very concerned about your condition, so he asked me to provide you with psychological therapy."

Alberto muttered something under his breath, and Schiller rested his elbow on the table, supporting his chin, observing Alberto with keen interest. It was quite remarkable how despite sharing the same face with Evans, the two individuals looked completely different.

The difference in temperament led to changes in expression, and the facial lines involved in those expressions made their appearances completely different.

This is excellent material for observation because it's a genuine case of dual personalities, not the kind induced by hypnosis or fantasy.

"It seems like you don't want to understand your younger brother's feelings?"

"Understand? Do you know what that idiot has done?!"

Alberto turned his head in another direction, sighed deeply, and said, "He went to The Godfather and said, 'I want to move out, I don't want to live at home anymore,' and when The Godfather asked him why, he said, 'Because you're in Falcone Manor'..."

Alberto covered his eyes and said, "Can you imagine The Godfather's expression at that moment?"

Alberto's voice was filled with exhaustion as he said, "I can tell that The Godfather has truly aged. If it were before, if I had dared to say such words, he would have shot me right then and there, making me reflect until I bled too much and then bandaging me up."

"What's even more terrifying is that this is just the beginning. He left Falcone Manor, and the driver wanted to take him, but he insisted on walking by himself. He wanted to walk from Falcone Manor to Gotham University in the middle of the night..."

"Thank God, he arrived safely at Gotham University, but since he didn't have his dorm key, he had to climb in through the window. Climbing the window in the middle of the night startled the students upstairs, and they fired two shots, but they missed him..."

"The next day, he complained about the hard bed and the poor environment in the dorm, so he wanted to ask his classmate if he could stay with him..." Alberto covered his face and said, "He called that person Bruce Wayne."

"He said he had never been to the famous Wayne Manor and that he had a good relationship with Bruce, so he was sure Bruce would let him stay for a couple of days..."

Schiller coughed twice, then covered his mouth. Alberto glanced at him, and Schiller took a long pause before returning to normal and looking at Alberto, saying, "I swear, I didn't laugh."

Alberto said weakly, "And then Bruce actually agreed, and the next night, they went back to Wayne Manor."

"Did you see a strange figure standing by your bedside in the middle of the night?"

Alberto's hand twitched, as if there were no words to describe his emotions.

"He talked to Bruce about the musical he had written until midnight, and then he even performed an impromptu piece, which attracted Alfred, the butler. Alfred really liked him and strongly insisted that he stay for a few more days..."

Alberto said through gritted teeth, "And then, he felt very confused, wondering why I hadn't appeared these past few days..."

Schiller couldn't hold back any longer. Alberto looked at him expressionlessly and laughed, as if he had expected this reaction.

Taking a deep breath, Schiller made an effort to suppress the desire to laugh and looked at Alberto, saying, "I admit, Evans' actions are a bit... but you're not just not appearing because of that, are you?"

Alberto leaned back in his chair, his golden hair covering half of his face.

"You're jealous, aren't you?"

Alberto remained silent. Schiller put the pen back in the penholder and said, "You know what? I encountered a similar case before. He was a prince of a country..."

"His brother was the heir to the throne, reckless, impulsive, never thinking before acting. But no matter what mess the elder prince caused, his father would always clean up after him."

Alberto lowered his eyelids and said, "People always have extra tolerance for fools."

"You're more open-minded than him."

"The example you gave isn't accurate because we're not brothers. We were originally one person. Even from a personality perspective, he has a memory of having a brother, but I don't consider myself to have a younger brother..."

"But you should also understand that without Evans' presence, The Godfather wouldn't spare your life. If he could kill you once, he could kill you a second time."

The golden strands of hair completely covered Alberto's eyes. He looked at Schiller through the gaps in his hair and said, "Of course, I know. He never considered me his son. His son is only Evans."

"So now you must be torn. Everyone has abandoned you, no one has chosen you, including The Godfather, including Batman, including me. They have all chosen Evans..."

"And then Evans chose you."

"When he realized how much you fear The Godfather and how much The Godfather despises you, he resolutely chose to stand by your side."

Alberto's mouth was tightly pursed, and even a hint of cyan appeared at the corners of his mouth. Schiller continued to speculate, "So now you must be torn. You can't find an answer, so you can only choose to escape."

"But you can also try to look at it from a different perspective..." Schiller took out a new case file and began to write with his head lowered, saying, "You should have noticed that all of The Godfather's training plans for Evans have failed. He's simply not cut out for this line of work."

"He's a bad guy. He has no moral burden when it comes to killing, and he doesn't mind gang shootouts or other crimes. But he's not bad enough, not ruthless enough."

"He's a good person. Excellent grades, wide circle of friends, and a passion for the arts. But he's not good enough, lacking that innate sense of justice and duty, more easily swayed by the current."

"A person like him could do any profession, but unfortunately, he can't become The Godfather."

"The Godfather probably realized this a long time ago. He tried many methods, but none were effective."

"The Godfather said he's like his wife."

"Perhaps, but the problem now is that The Godfather really only has this one son. Even if he could pass on his position to a son with a blood relationship, scouring the Twelve Families, there's no more suitable heir. Others are not only foolish but also wicked."

"That's why I'm still alive." Alberto's voice carried a sense of pain.

"I'm alive not because I'm his son, but because I'm a qualified successor."

Otherwise, as you said, he could kill me once, and he could kill me a second time..."

"Have you ever tried talking to The Godfather?"

"Talk to him?" Alberto forced a stiff smile and said, "How can I talk to him? I can't even stand up straight in front of him..."

"If you were The Godfather's enemy, you would understand how terrifying it is to face him."

"You consider yourself his enemy, but how can you be sure that he considers you his enemy too?"

"If I'm not his enemy, why did he try to kill me?"

"Even if you are his enemy, he has already tried to kill you."

"The only positive answer I can give you and many people believe that The Godfather is lenient. It's not an act, it's his personality. That's what sets him apart from other gang leaders and it's his greatest charisma."

"You said you're a lot like The Godfather, so you can completely put yourself in his shoes and think. If someone you've already killed comes back, would you consider them as your opponent and enemy, staring them down?"

"He can kill you once, he can kill you a second time, but that's the problem."

"You've already lost to him once, and you will lose to him a second and third time. Your repeated failures have proven that you're not a threat to him, and that's why he might spare you, isn't it?"

Silent Alberto stood like a statue, and Schiller saw shades of Loki in him. Both were jealous of their brothers, both feared their father, both loved and couldn't have.

To Schiller, it was a remarkably strange thing because they were from two different universes with no connection, yet their souls were surprisingly similar.

For Schiller, experiencing such situations twice in a row was like facing a math problem in school. After solving it one way, he would then consider a second solution. It wasn't bothersome at all, but rather quite enjoyable.